Killa gets a reserve outing

by Phil Hay
MATTHEW KILGALLON will begin his comeback from a knee injury when Leeds United's reserves line-up against Blackburn Rovers tonight.

The young centre-back has not featured for United's first-team since the FA Cup defeat to Wigan in January, but he is set for a timely return in Morecambe this evening with selection problems weighing on Kevin Blackwell.

Sean Gregan, who has held his place in the centre of United's defence since Kilgallon's injury, collected his 10th booking of the season against Norwich on Saturday, and he will begin a two-match ban when Leeds make the difficult trip to Coventry City this weekend.

Kilgallon is likely to be given a gentle introduction tonight, but Blackwell will keep a close eye on his performance as he weighs up the options to partner Paul Butler at the Ricoh Stadium.

Australian international Joel Griffiths will also make an appearance tonight as he continues to improve his match fitness.

Griffiths was named on the bench for United's recent win over Luton but has been missing from the first-team squad for the last two fixtures, and he will attempt to force his way further into Blackwell's plans with another outing for the reserves.

Griffiths may be joined in midfield by Eirik Bakke – another player whose fitness is in need of fine tuning – while a number of other senior players are expected to be given a run-out.

Full-back Dan Harding will take his place on the left side of defence, while Gylfi Einarsson and Rui Marques should also be included against Mark Hughes' second string.

United were this morning waiting for confirmation that the game would go ahead as planned with cold weather affecting the surface in Morecambe.